A method for distributing feed over a plurality of separate feeding locations and a feeding system therefor

ABSTRACT

A method for distributing feed over multiple separate feeding locations includes determining which feeding locations have a feed requirement; selecting a first feeding location among the feeding locations having a feed requirement; determining a feed composition to be delivered to the first feeding location; determining which further feeding locations have a feed requirement and require the same feed composition; selecting at least one further feeding location; filling the feed delivery device with an amount of the determined feed composition; and distributing the feed, wherein the amount of feed distributed to a selected feeding location depends on the ratio between amount to be delivered to said selected feeding location and the sum of the amounts of feed to be delivered to all selected feeding locations.

The invention relates to a method for distributing feed over a pluralityof separate feeding locations.

In a dairy farm taking care of feeding the animals, i.e. the cows, is animportant daily routine. This daily routine takes a lot of time whenperformed by a person. In order to save time and effort for the farmer,automatic feeding systems like the Lely Vector™ automatic feeding systemmay be used which, when employed, take care of most tasks within theroutine.

Current automatic feeding systems include feed control systemsprogrammed to autonomously determine a feed requirement for a feedinglocation, i.e. when to deliver feed to a feeding location. Each feedinglocation is assigned an associated feed composition, or feed ration ortotal mixed ration or the like, which may vary from feeding location tofeeding location depending for instance on the corresponding type or ageof animals that are fed at that feeding location. E.g. for dairy animalsthe ration may depend on the animal being lactating or not, for meatproducing animals, the ration may depend on the monitored growth of theanimals. The system thus delivers feed of a specific feed compositiondepending on the feeding locations to be provided with such feed inaccordance with a determined feed requirement, i.e. a decision todeliver feed to selected locations. A particular amount of feed with therequired feed composition for said feeding locations is then determinedto be delivered to said feeding locations and prepared and loaded in afeed delivery device and subsequently delivered to said feedinglocation. Preparation may take place in a separate preparation device(stationary feed mixer) or in the feed delivery device when this isequipped with feed mixing means (which may include cutting means). Anexample of such a feed delivery device is the autonomous mixing andfeeding robot of the Lely Vector System.

Although such systems work fine to automatically prepare and deliverfeed to the animals without the constant assistance of a farmer, it hasbeen found that currently available systems exhibit an unbalance betweenefficiency and quality of feed. For example, when it is ensured that thefeed delivery device always runs with a full load, the quality of thefeed and in particular the freshness of it will suffer, because thedelivery is done less often. Alternatively when the feed delivery deviceis programmed to feed more often but smaller amounts, the quality offeed and in particular it's freshness improves, but the capacity of thesystem suffers. Feeding more often and in smaller amounts may also leadto inaccuracy in the feed composition vis-a-vis the required feedcomposition. As the feed composition is important for the well-being ofanimals and milk production of dairy animals, it is desired that theactual prepared and delivered feed composition is according to therecipe or close to it.

It is thus an object of the invention to improve the system's balancebetween efficiency of the system and quality of the feed delivered tothe animals.

This object is achieved by providing a method for distributing feed overa plurality of separate feeding locations using a feed delivery deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

-   -   a) determining which feeding locations have a feed requirement;    -   b) selecting a first feeding location among the feeding        locations having a feed requirement;    -   c) determining a feed composition for the feed to be delivered        to the first feeding location and determining a first amount of        said feed to be delivered to the first feeding location;    -   d) determining which further feeding locations having a feed        requirement require the same feed composition as the first        feeding location;    -   e) selecting at least one further feeding location and        determining a further amount of said feed to be delivered to        said further feeding location;    -   f) filling the feed delivery device with an amount of the        determined feed composition;    -   g) distributing the filled amount of feed in the feed delivery        device over the selected feeding locations, wherein the amount        of feed from the filled amount which is distributed to a        selected feeding location is dependent on the ratio between the        amount of feed to be delivered to said selected feeding location        and the sum of the amounts of feed to be delivered to all        selected feeding locations times the filled amount.

Thus in accordance with the invention the feed delivery device is filledwith an amount of feed of a particular feed composition, ensuring anefficient use of the system, and then distributes said filled amount offeed proportionally to the respective to be delivered amounts of feed ofthe respective feed locations, thus to more than one feeding location,ensuring optimal freshness of the feed.

The invention is based on the insight of the inventors that the deficitbetween delivered and required feed composition in particular occurswhen the to be prepared amount of the feed composition is low. Thishappens for so-called small feeding locations where not a lot of animalsare present. In such a case the different ingredients making up the feedcomposition are to be loaded in such small sub-amounts that the requiredaccuracy cannot be met, causing a deviation from the prescribedsub-amounts per ingredient and resulting in a different prepared feedcomposition. By filling the feed delivery device with an amount anddistributing it proportionally to several feeding locations, the totalamount of prepared feed composition is bigger and thus the sub-amountsof individual feed ingredients are more accurately dosed.

Another advantage of the method according to the invention is that theoperating costs are lowered as there are less required feeding roundsper time frame because feed is delivered to more than one feedinglocation at a time, i.e. per feeding round, while ensuring the freshnessof the feed.

A further advantage of the method according to the invention may be thatwhen a feed delivery device is used which also mixes the ration, themixing can be performed better, i.e. results in a more homogeneous mixedration. This is caused by the fact that for good mixing not only themixing time is important, but also the amount to be mixed in relation tothe fill capacity of the device. For good mixing a minimum amount offeed is required to be loaded into the mixing device. By preparing feedto be delivered to more than one feeding location, it is more likelythat this minimum amount of feed is exceeded.

Another advantage of the method according to the invention is that thecapacity of the feeding system is increased, because it can deliver feedto more than one feeding location per feeding round.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of determining amaximum filling amount of the feed delivery device for the determinedfeed composition. In this way the use of the delivery device ismaximized. Advantageously the maximum filling amount for a deliverydevice which also mixes the feed is chosen such that feed is not thrownout during driving or mixing, thus preventing waste.

In an embodiment, the feed delivery device is filled with the maximumfilling amount of feed. In this way the mixing performance is maximal asdeviations are spread out over the maximum amount of feed.

In an embodiment, further feeding locations are selected until the sumof the amounts of feed to be delivered to all selected feeding locationsequals or exceeds the maximum filling amount. In this way, the chance ofselecting too many feeding locations is reduced.

In order to always fill the feed delivery device to the maximum fillingamount, the further feeding locations are selected until the sum of theamounts of feed to be delivered to all selected feeding locations equalsor exceeds the maximum filling amount. The consequence thereof is thatall selected feeding locations receive a proportional amount of thedetermined amount to be delivered, which means that the frequency offeed being delivered to the feeding locations will be increased. Thisadvantageously increases the average freshness of the feed at thefeeding locations.

It is also possible that all further feeding locations having a feedingrequirement are selected but the sum of the amounts of feed to bedelivered to all selected feeding locations does not exceed the maximumfilling amount. Selecting any further feeding locations may then bestopped, and the feed delivery device will be filled to the maximumfilling amount. This means that the selected feeding locations will eachproportionally receive an amount based on the determined amount butwhich is more than the determined amount. This will result in thefrequency of feed being delivered to the feeding locations beingdecreased, but will on the other hand increase the capacity of thefeeding system.

In an embodiment, selecting a first feeding location comprisesdetermining a respective priority for the feeding locations having afeed requirement, wherein the first feeding location is the feedinglocation having the highest priority. This ensures that the feedinglocation which requires feed the most receives feed in the nextdistribution cycle and minimizes the chance of an empty feeding locationor at least minimizes the duration that a feeding location is empty.

In an embodiment, selecting further feeding locations is done indescending order of priority. An advantage of evaluating the furtherfeeding locations in descending order of priority is that the methodaims to service feeding locations with a high priority earlier thanfeeding locations with a low priority.

In an embodiment, determining which feeding locations have a feedrequirement is based on a rest feed measurement which is representativefor the amount of feed present at a respective feeding location. Anadvantage thereof is that a feed requirement is determined based onactual feed measurements instead of being determined based on a dailydelivery schedule according to which feed is delivered to the animalsduring a day, which is incapable of determining an actual feedrequirement and may lead to empty feeding locations or too much feed ata feeding location.

Rest feed measurements can be done by weight sensors in connection to afeeding location, with feed height measurements, by 3D camera which candetermine a feed volume, or even by a person taking note of theremaining feed at the feeding locations.

In an embodiment, determining which feeding locations have a feedrequirement comprises comparing the rest feed measurement with athreshold value representative for a minimum amount of feed, wherein afeeding location is determined to have a feed requirement when the restfeed measurement for said feeding locations below the threshold valuecorresponding to said feeding location. For instance, the rest feedmeasurement of a feeding location may result in kg feed at the feedinglocation, a volume of feed at the feeding location or in a feed heightat the feeding location, e.g. in centimeters, and the threshold valuemay be a respective minimum weight, minimum volume, a minimum feedheight or a minimum average feed height at that feeding location.

The same may be done when the feed measurement is representative for theaverage amount of feed remaining along the feeding location.

An advantage of using a minimum amount of feed, or a minimum averageamount is that a feed requirement is already determined when there isstill some feed left at the feeding location and thus there is enoughtime to deliver new feed before the feeding location is empty or atleast the time the feeding location is empty is minimized.

Another advantage of the threshold is that it is an easy parameter tocontrol and adjust. Hence, it allows the user to easily adjust thethreshold in accordance with its wishes.

In an embodiment, determining which feeding locations have a feedrequirement may include determining or estimating which feedinglocations have a feed requirement in the near future. Determining orestimating which feeding locations have a feed requirement in the nearfuture may for instance be carried out when there are no further feedinglocations having a feed requirement to select besides the first feedinglocation, or when all further feeding locations having a feedrequirement have been selected but the sum of the amounts does notexceed the maximum filling amount. This ensures that the feed deliverydevice is always filled to the maximum amount maximizing the efficiencyand capacity of the system and that sufficient fresh feed is deliveredto all animals.

Estimating which feeding locations have a feed requirement in the nearfuture may be based on the elapsed time since the last time a feedinglocation received feed, possibly in combination with average timesbetween successive deliveries of feed to a feeding location, whichaverage times can be based on a schedule or on feeding history.

Determining or estimating which feeding locations have a feedrequirement in the near future may alternatively or additionally involveadjusting the rest feed measurement based determination, e.g. byincreasing the threshold value representative for a minimum amount offeed and comparing the rest feed measurement with the increasedthreshold to see if a feeding location can then be considered to have afeed requirement (in the near future). The same result may be obtainedby for instance lowering the rest feed measurement with a predeterminedvalue, e.g. 10%.

In an embodiment, determining a respective priority for the feedinglocations having a feed requirement is based on the rest feedmeasurements of those locations. In particular, when using rest feedmeasurements, the feeding location having the largest difference betweenthe respective rest feed measurement and the corresponding thresholdvalue, i.e. the largest deficit, will be assigned the highest priority.

In an embodiment, determining a respective priority for the feedinglocations having a feed requirement is based on a period of timemeasured from a starting point in time when a feeding requirement of arespective feeding location was determined for the first time after anearlier point in time when feed was delivered to that location. Thus,for instance, in addition to assigning priority based on the deficitrelative to the rest feed threshold value, a time stamp can be added tothe feed requirement indicating when it was determined to be present.Different feeding locations may then have feed requirements which aredifferent in deficit relative to their rest feed threshold value as wellas in time stamp. By using the time stamps as a ‘weighting factor’ indetermining the respective priority for delivering feed to the feedinglocations which have a feed requirement, a location with a (marginal)smaller deficit may get priority over a feeding location with a largerdeficit because it's feed requirement is older. This ensures a gooddistribution of the freshness of the feed over the feeding locations andat the same time guarantees no feed location can get passed over.

A feed delivery device may have a predetermined, fixed route along allfeeding locations, and the route starting and ending at a location,preferably at a loading station such as a feed loading and/or batteryloading station, where the feed delivery device is filled with the feedcomposition and/or where it charges its batteries. Hence, during eachrun or feeding round the feed delivery device, if equipped with anappropriate measurement system, is able to measure the amount of feedpresent at the all feeding locations and to deliver feed to multiplefeeding locations without having to adapt its route. Alternatively, e.g.in case the feed delivery device is an autonomous vehicle, the feeddelivery device may have more then one predetermined routes, and allroutes together will cover all feeding locations.

It is further possible that the method is carried out using multiplefeed delivery devices. Each having the same or a different predeterminedroute or routes. The amount of feed present at a feeding location can bemeasured every time a feed delivery device passes. The data thusobtained may be used by other feed delivery devices to determine thefeeding locations with a feed requirement.

In an embodiment, the feed delivery device moves along a predeterminedroute past a plurality of feeding locations when delivering the feed.The feeding locations comprised in the predetermined route may begrouped depending on obstacles present along the route that mayinterfere with the feed delivery device during distributing the feed,wherein in step e) only the further feeding locations are selected whichalso belong to the same group as the first feeding location. In thisway, the distribution of the feed is finished before the obstacle is metalong the route, so that the chance of interference between the feeddelivery device and the obstacle are minimized.

The invention also relates to a feeding system for distributing feedover a plurality of separate feeding locations, comprising a feeddelivery device and a feed loading system and a feed control system,wherein the feed delivery device is configured to deliver feed to one ormore feeding locations, and the feed loading system is configured tofill the feed delivery system and wherein the feed control system isconfigured to:

-   -   a) determine which feeding locations have a feed requirement;    -   b) select a first feeding location among the feeding locations        having a feed requirement;    -   c) determine a feed composition for the feed to be delivered to        the first feeding location and determine a first amount of said        feed to be delivered to the first feeding location;    -   d) determine which further feeding locations having a feed        requirement require the same feed composition as the first        feeding location;    -   e) select at least one further feeding location and determine a        further amount of said feed to be delivered to said further        feeding location;    -   f) control the feed loading system to fill the feed delivery        device with an amount of the determined feed composition;    -   g) control the feed delivery device to drive and move along the        selected feeding locations to distribute the filled amount of        feed in the feed delivery device over the selected feeding        locations, wherein the amount of feed distributed to a selected        feeding location is dependent on the ratio between the amount of        feed to be delivered to said selected feeding location and the        sum of the amounts of feed to be delivered to all selected        feeding locations times the filled amount.

Thus in accordance with the invention the feed delivery device is filledwith an amount of feed of a particular feed composition, ensuring anefficient use of the system, and then distributes said filled amount offeed proportionally to the respective to be delivered amounts of feed ofthe respective feed locations, thus to more than one feeding location,ensuring optimal freshness of the feed.

In an embodiment, the feed delivery device is an autonomous feeddelivery device, preferably due to the control system which preferablyis at least partially a part of the feed delivery device.

Preferably, the feed delivery device is a mobile self-propelled deviceincluding a regulating unit with which it can preferably autonomouslydetermine its location and is capable to move and navigate along aroute, which route may be predefined.

In an embodiment, the feeding system further comprises a feed stocksystem and a loading station, wherein the feed delivery device isconfigured to deliver feed from the loading station to the one or morefeeding locations, and wherein the feed loading system is configured todeliver feed from the feed stock system to the feed loading station tofill the feed delivery device when it is in the loading station.

Alternatively, the feeding system the feed loading system may comprise afeed loading device on the feed delivery device, which feed loadingdevice is arranged to load feed from the feed stock system and to fillthe feed delivery device itself. The feed loading device on the feeddelivery device may in particular be a feed grabber. Alternatively thefeed loading device on the feed delivery device may be a silage blockcutter, or a silage rotatable cutter in combination with a moving belt,or the like.

In an embodiment, the feed system and in particular the feed deliverydevice comprises a rest feed measurement system configured the determinethe amount of feed remaining at a feeding location. The term rest feedis used to indicate feed at the feeding location of which the amount ismeasured, as opposed to feed in the feed delivery device. The rest feedmeasurement may provide an average feed height at the feeding location,preferably after sweeping the feed to get a reproducible rest feedmeasurement.

In an embodiment, the feed delivery device comprises a mixing device formixing feed. Alternatively, the mixing device may be provided separatelyfrom the feed delivery device, wherein for instance the mixing deviceafter mixing the feed fills the feed delivery device.

In an embodiment, the feed delivery device comprises a door allowingfeed to be dispensed, which door extends away from the feed deliverydevice when at least partially opened. The control system is thenpreferably configured to combine only feeding locations in a singlefeeding round which are in a same group stored in the control systembased on obstacles along the route that may interfere with an opened orpartially opened door of the feed delivery device.

It is to be noted here that throughout the application, the reference toanimals actually means non-human animals, in particular livestock.

The invention will now be described in a non-limiting way by referenceto the accompanying FIG. 1 which schematically depicts a plan view of adairy farm.

FIG. 1 depicts schematically a dairy farm comprising in this example twobarns 1 a, 1 b to accommodate animals, i.e. cows 3. Only some cows 3 areshown in FIG. 1, but it will be clear that the barns 1 a, 1 b mayaccommodate more animals. To feed the cows 3, a feeding system isprovided comprising in this embodiment a self propelled mixing andfeeding vehicle 5 as feed delivery device. The self propelled feedingvehicle 5 is movable with wheels 6 over the ground. The feeding vehicle5 comprises a container 7 to hold feed and a mixing device 5 is providedto mix the feed (not shown). A feed discharging device 8 is provided onthe feed delivery vehicle to discharge feed from the container 7, thedischarging device comprises a door in the container 7 (not shown). Arest feed measurement device 9 is provided to measure the amount of feedat feeding locations 10 a-10 f in the barns. A vehicle drive and controlunit (not shown) is provided on the vehicle for driving and controllingthe feed vehicle and its devices. The drive and control system of thefeed vehicle 5 is regulatable by a regulating unit 11 of the feedvehicle 5. In this example embodiment, the drive and control systemcomprises an electric drive motor in each case for each wheel 6 (notshown). The electric drive motors of the wheels 6 are regulatableindependently from one another. Through the regulation of the torque orthe speed of rotation of the wheels 6, the feed vehicle 5 can travel ina straight line forwards, in a straight line backwards, or in a curve.

The drive and control system comprises a battery system for storingelectrical energy (not shown). The battery system is connected to theelectric drive motors. In the FIGURE, the feed vehicle 5 is set up on aloading station 12, in which the container 7 of the feed vehicle 5 isfilled with an amount of feed. The loading station 12 comprises acharging point 20 of a charging system 21 for charging the batterysystem of the feed vehicle 5. The loading station 12 therefore alsoforms a battery charging station. The regulating unit 11 of the feedvehicle 5 is designed to regulate the mixing device in such a way thatthe mixing device mixes the feed held in the container 7 while the feedvehicle 5 is connected to the charging point 20 at the loading stationand the battery system of the feed vehicle 5 is charged by means of thecharging system 21.

In this example embodiment, the feed stock system 13 comprises a feedkitchen. The feed kitchen comprises a number of compartments 14 on thesubstrate, in which different types of feed are arranged separately fromone another. Obviously, the feed stock system 13 can also be designeddifferently. A feed-loading system 15 is provided to transfer feed fromthe feed stock system 13 to the container 4 of the feed vehicle 5 whenthe feed vehicle 5 is set up on the loading station 12.

In this example embodiment, the feed-loading system 15 comprises amovable support rail 16 which is movably (see arrow A) disposed on twofixed support rails 17 which are disposed parallel to one another and ata distance from one another. The movable support rail 16 comprises atrolley 18 movable along said rail (see arrow B), so that the trolley 18can be positioned above each of the compartments 14 with types of feed.

The trolley 18 is provided with a vertically movable grabber (not shown)to grab feed from the compartments 14. Said feed can then be moved toabove the container 7 of the feed vehicle 5 and can then be released bythe grabber. Due to the transfer of a plurality of types of feed to thecontainer 7 of the feed vehicle 5, a mixture occurs therein for feedtypes. The feed loading system 15 also comprises an operating unit 44.Alternatively a feed loading system could also be integrated with thefeed vehicle 5, the vehicle including a feed loading system or deviceand then traveling to the required compartments 14, or to silage storage24 or the like, and fill itself.

The feed system includes a feed control system 23 which may at leastpartially be provided on the feeding vehicle in the form of theregulating unit, and is provided with at least one memory in which dataare stored. The data stored in the memory of the feed control system 23comprise navigation data, ration data and operating data. The navigationdata comprise route segment date, on the basis of which the feed vehicle5 is able to travel different routes, for example a first route 19 fromthe loading station 12 to the feed location 10 a in barn 1 a, then tofeed locations 10 b and 10 c and through to barn 1 b to feed locations10 d , 10 e and 10 f and back to the feed loading station 12. Or a routecomprising only feed locations 10 a-10 c in barn 1 a, and a furtherroute for feed locations 10 d-10 f in barn 1 b.

The rations stored in the memory of the feed control system 23 comprisea plurality of rations for the animals. Each ration is determined by atotal quantity of feed and the composition thereof, for example thetotal quantity of feed in kg and the recipe (ratio) or the number of kgper feed type and linked to a feed location. The feed locations arelinked to type of animals and the number of animals at that location.

The operating data comprise, for example, operating data for operatingthe feed discharging device 8 of the feed vehicle 5 and operating datafor operating the livestock building door 35. In addition, the datastored in the memory of feed control system 23 comprises an input withwhich one of the rations and at least one of the feed locations can beselected in the feed control system 23. The input may include rest feedmeasurement data delivered to the feed control system 23 by theregulating unit 11 of the feeding vehicle. Depending on the input, thefeed control system 23 determines a packet of data from the data storedin the memory of the control system 23 and delivers the data to theregulating unit of the vehicle 5. To this purpose both the feed controlsystem 23 and the regulating unit 11 of the vehicle are provided withdata communication tools to send and receive data. Once the vehicle 5has received the data it will prepare to execute feeding the feedlocation which according to these date needs to be provided with feed.Data are transmitted preferably while the vehicle 5 is in the loadingstation 12. The feed control system is connected with the loadingstation 12 and can then transmit data to the regulating unit. Such datacould also be transmitted wirelessly by suitable means, such as WIFI, orBluetooth sending/receiving units.

The vehicle 5 places a feed order at a feed loading system 15 which feedloading system is also provided with suitable data communication tools.The feed loading system 15 and its operating unit 22 will then transportfeed ingredients from feed stocked in the relevant feed storagecompartments 14 to the loading station 12, when it receives a feed orderdata from feeding vehicle 5, to fill it with the ordered composition offeed.

The feed loading system 15 and the feeding vehicle 5 both are autonomousdevices controlled by operating unit 22 and regulating unit 11respectively, and can communicate with each other and/or with the feedcontrol system 23. Alternatively, feed control system 23 could directlycontrol the feed loading system 15 and the feeding vehicle.

In order to keep the feed fresh or as fresh as possible, the feed isinitially stored in a long term storage like a silo 17 and subsequentlytransported, e.g. as bales, to the feed storage location in the building15.

In the shown embodiment, each barn 1 a, 1 b has three fenced areas,respectively fenced areas 2 a, 2 b, 2 c for barn 1 a and fenced areas 4a, 4 b, 4 c for barn 1 b where animals can be held in groups separatefrom the other groups. The animals on a dairy farm may be divided intoone or more feed groups, like milking cows dry cows, young animals etc.,each group requiring a different feed composition, i.e. a differentmixed feed ration.

Each fenced area has an associated feeding location 10 a-10 f where feedis provided for the animals to eat. The feeding locations are locatedoutside the fenced areas so that animals have to reach over or through arespective fence to get to the feed at the feeding location, keeping thefeed separated from manure. This creates not only a clean, but also asafe area for the feeding vehicle to move along the feeding locationswithout interfering with the animals.

In this embodiment, the feeding vehicle or feed delivery device 5includes a mixing device within the vehicle to mix the feed. However,this mixing device may also be provided separately, as part of loadingsystem 15 or be absent at all.

In the displayed embodiment the feeding vehicle 5 is provided with arest feed measurement device 9 and while the feeding vehicle travelsalong the feed fences the amount of feed at the feed locations ismeasured. The data are stored in a memory in the regulating unit 11 andcommunicated to the central feeding control system 23 when the vehicleis in the feed loading station 12.

The feed control system 23 determines, based on the measured amounts offeed at the feeding locations, which one of these locations has a feedrequirement (which is explained below by way of an example). The feedcontrol system 23 then determines which feeding location needs to beprovided with feed at the next feeding round of the feeding vehicle, andprepares the necessary data and transmits these data to the regulatingunit of the feeding vehicle. The feeding vehicle can then drive itsroute and measure the feed amounts of feed at the feeding locations andprovide the selected first and further feeding locations with feed.

Table 1 indicates possible settings present in the memory of the feedcontrol system 23 for the fenced areas and corresponding feedinglocations 10 a-10 f. The feed composition is simplified by referring toa letter, so that it can easily be seen that feeding location 10 a, 10 band 10 e require feed of composition A which is different from feedcomposition B required at feeding location 10 c, 10 d and 10 f. Feedcomposition may alternatively be referred to as ration or mixed feedration, or TMR.

The amount of feed measured to as present at a feeding location is inthis embodiment represented by the average height of feed in centimetersat a feeding location after it has been swept. Sweeping is usuallyperformed by either feeding vehicle 5 itself, a separate sweeping robotor personnel. The threshold is the minimum average height that isaccepted without having to deliver new feed. When the average height ata feeding location gets below the threshold, a feed requirement isdetermined and a first amount is decided to be delivered by feeddelivery device 5 to the feeding location, which amount is expressed inkilograms and delivered to the feeding location. In this embodiment, thefirst amount of feed is distributed along the length of the feed fenceof the feeding location. The first amount is determined and dependsamongst other things on the size (length of the feed fence) of thefeeding location, on the number and type of animals present in thecorresponding fenced area, type of feed ration, settings made by theuser (e.g. user may define the amount). As long as the settings remainthe same, the first amount remains the same too.

TABLE 1 exemplary settings for fenced areas Fenced Feeding Feed AmountThreshold area location composition (kg) (cm) 2a 10a A 500 10 2b 10b A300 5 2c 10c B 200 15 4a 10d B 150 15 4b 10e A 200 10 4c 10f B 150 10

FIG. 1 further shows in dashed lines a route 19 that may be taken by thefeeding vehicle 5 during a run/feeding round past all feeding locations.In this embodiment, when the vehicle has been filled at the feed loadingstation 12 it will first go to barn 1 a, where it passes feedinglocations 10 a, 10 b and 10 c. It then moves to barn 1 b and passesfeeding locations 10 d, 10 e and 10 f. Every time the feeding vehicle 5makes a feeding round feed may be swept at each feeding location and theheight of the feed is measured.

An outcome of a feeding round may be that temporarily none of thefeeding locations have a feeding requirement. Hence, no next feedinground will be planned based on delivering feed. However, the system maybe programmed such that at regular intervals, the feeding vehicle makesa run past all feeding locations to determine whether there are feedinglocations having a feed requirement. Alternatively the feed measurementdevice 9 may be present at the feeding location and measure the amountof feed present at the feeding locations repeatedly or continuously,e.g. by providing weighing cells in a feed bunk. Table 2 comprisesexample measurement results of rest feed at the feeding locations.

TABLE 2 rest feed measurement results Average height Feeding Feed AmountThreshold measurement location composition (kg) (cm) (cm) 10a A 500 10 610b A 300 5 4 10c B 200 15 18 10d B 150 15 13 10e A 200 10 4 10f B 10010 11

By comparing the feed measurement in the form of the average heightmeasurement of the feed at the feeding locations with the correspondingthreshold it can be seen that feeding locations 10 c and 109 f haveenough feed and thus do not require fresh new feed. On the other hand,feeding locations 10 a, 10 b, 10 d and 10 e require feed. To determine apriority, the differences between the average height measurement and thecorresponding thresholds may be determined. This results in thefollowing differences:

-   -   Feeding location 10 a: 4 cm    -   Feeding location 10 b: 1 cm    -   Feeding location 10 d: 2 cm    -   Feeding location 10 e: 6 cm

Hence, feeding location 10 e having largest the difference, isdetermined by the feed control system to have the highest priority,followed by respectively feeding location 10 a, 10 d and 10 b indescending order with location 10 b having the lowest priority. As canbe seen in the table 2 the amount of feed to be delivered to feedinglocation 10 e with the highest priority is 200 kg of feed composition A.The method according to the invention, the feed control system thendetermines whether there are further feeding locations requiring feedcomposition A. In the example above feeding locations 10 a and 10 b alsorequire feed composition A, respectively 500 and 300 kg.

In accordance to the inventive method, the system then determines whatthe maximum filling amount of the container 7 of the feed deliverydevice 5 is for feed composition A. In this example this maximum fillingamount for feed composition A and container 7 is set at 600 kg. Hence,the amount of required feed of the first feeding location 10 e in thisembodiment does not exceed the maximum filling amount of the feeddelivery device 5. Hence, in this example, and accordance with theinvention, the feed control system 23 will evaluate the further feedinglocations having a feed requirement of the same feed composition indescending order of priority. In this example, the next feeding locationto be evaluated is feeding location 10 a requiring 500 kg of feedcomposition A. Selecting feeding location 10 a results in the sum ofrequired amounts of the all selected feeding locations (in this examplefeeding location 10 e with 200 kg) so far, to be 700 kg which exceedsthe maximum filling amount of the feed delivery device.

In this example, the control system 23 will then stop selecting offurther feeding locations will stop.

The feed control system 23 determines that 600 kg of feed composition Aneeds to be delivered to feed locations 10 e and 10 a, and prepares asuitable data package for the feed delivery device to be able to executethe order. The data package including at least the feed components andamounts to be loaded, mixing time, and navigation route information.With the feed delivery device 5 at the feed loading station 12, the datais then sent from the control system 23 to the regulating unit 11 of thefeeding vehicle 5, which then can communicate to the feed loading system15 which fills the container 7 of the feed delivery device 5 with the600 k of feed composition A. The feeding vehicle 5, once filled, drivesalong the route it 19 to sweep feed, measure the amount of feed presentat the feeding locations and deliver the 600 kg of feed composition A tofeeding locations 10 e and 10 a, and return to the feed loading station12 and communicate the feed measurement data as well as the data of thefeed delivery to the feed control system 23. After which the process ofdetermining which feeding location requires new feed the most isrepeated.

In accordance with the invention the 600 kg, which is the filled amountof the container 7 of the feeding vehicle 5, is proportionally dividedover feeding locations 10 a and 10 e, dependent on the ratio between theamounts to be delivered (200 kg for location 10 e and 700 kg forlocation 10 a) times the filed amount (600 kg). Hence, feeding location9 a will actually receive (500/700)*600=429 kg and feeding location 9 ewill actually receive (200/700)*600=171 kg.

Instead of stopping selecting further feeding locations once the maximumfilling amount is exceeded, the feed control system 23 may continueselecting further feeding locations. For instance, further feedinglocations may be selected until selecting a next further feedinglocation would result in at least one of the individual amounts of feeddistributed to the selected feeding locations getting below a minimumamount of distributed feed. Of course if the conditions of the maximumfilling amount of the feed delivery device or the minimum amount ofdistributed feed are not reached before running out of further feedinglocations, the selection process will stop once no non-selected feedinglocations are present anymore.

In any event, the feed delivery vehicle will now be loaded with a largeramount of feed then would be the case when no further feeding locationwould be selected. And due to the larger amount of feed in the feedingvehicle, the loading and the mixing process are improved resulting in amore precisely prepared feed composition and the difference betweenrequested and actually delivered feed compositions is reduced. Therebyimproving the quality of the feed at both feeding location 10 e and 10a.

In an embodiment, the feeding locations 10 a-10 f are divided into twogroups due to an obstacle along route 19, which obstacle could interferewith the feed delivery vehicle 5 when distributing the feed is notfinished yet. This feeding vehicle 5 may for instance comprise a doorthat is slid open vertically and when open or not completely closed itmay extend above the mixing and feeding robot. When there is anobstacle, for instance the access opening of the barns 1 a and 1 b, thismay interfere with the open door of the vehicle 5. Hence, the accessopenings of the barns seen as obstacle and used to divide the feedinglocations into a first group 10 a, 10 b, 10 c and a second group 10 d,10 e, 10 f. Thus in an embodiment the feed control system 23 willdetermine, if when feeding more then one feeding locations, an obstacleis present. If that is the case, it will only combine those feedinglocations that are in the same group, and prevent problems with theobstacle.

In the abovementioned example, priority is assigned based on a rest feedmeasurement. However, priority may also be assigned based on adistribution plan and amount of time that has passed since a previousfeeding delivery action at a particular feeding location.

1. A method for distributing feed over a plurality of separate feedinglocations using a feed delivery device, comprising the following steps:a) determining which feeding locations have a feed requirement; b)selecting a first feeding location among the feeding locations having afeed requirement; c) determining a feed composition for the feed to bedelivered to the first feeding location and determining a first feedamount of said feed to be delivered to the first feeding location; d)determining which further feeding locations having a feed requirementrequire the same feed composition as the first feeding location; e)selecting at least one further feeding location and determining afurther amount of said feed to be delivered to said further feedinglocation; f) filling the feed delivery device with an amount of thedetermined feed composition; and g) distributing the filled amount offeed in the feed delivery device over the selected feeding locations,wherein the amount of feed from the filled amount which is distributedto a selected feeding location is dependent on the ratio between theamount of feed to be delivered to said selected feeding location and thesum of the amounts of feed to be delivered to all selected feedinglocations times the filled amount.
 2. The method according to claim 1,further comprising the step of determining a maximum filling amount ofthe feed delivery device for the determined feed composition.
 3. Themethod according to claims 2, wherein the feed delivery device is filledwith the maximum filling amount of feed.
 4. The method according toclaim 3, wherein further feeding locations are selected until the sum ofthe amounts of feed to be delivered to all selected feeding locationsequals or exceeds the maximum filling amount.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein selecting a first feeding location comprisesdetermining a respective priority for the feeding locations having afeed requirement, wherein the first feeding location is the feedinglocation having the highest priority.
 6. The method according to claim5, wherein selecting further feeding locations is done in descendingorder of priority.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereindetermining which feeding locations have a feed requirement is based ona rest feed measurement which is representative for the amount of feedremaining at a feeding location.
 8. The method according to claim 7,wherein determining which feeding locations have a feed requirementcomprises comparing the rest feed measurement with a threshold valuerepresentative for a minimum amount of feed, wherein a feeding locationis determined to have a feed requirement when the rest feed measurementfor said feeding location is below the threshold value corresponding tosaid feeding location.
 9. The method according to claim 5, whereindetermining which feeding locations have a feed requirement is based ona rest feed measurement which is representative for the amount of feedremaining at a feeding location, and wherein determining a respectivepriority for the feeding locations having a feed requirement is based onthe rest feed measurement.
 10. The method according to claims 8, whereindetermining a respective priority for the feeding locations having afeed requirement comprises determining a difference between therespective rest feed measurement and the corresponding threshold valuefor each feeding location having a feed requirement, and wherein thefirst feeding location is the feeding location having the largestdifference.
 11. The method according to claim 5, wherein determining arespective priority for the feeding locations having a feed requirementis based on a period of time measured from a starting point in time whena feeding requirement of a respective feeding location was determinedfor the first time after an earlier point in time when feed wasdelivered to that location.
 12. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe feed delivery device moves along a predetermined route past aplurality of feeding locations when distributing the feed.
 13. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein the feeding locations comprised inthe predetermined route are grouped depending on obstacles present alongthe standard route that may interfere with the feed delivery deviceduring distributing the feed, and wherein in step e) only furtherfeeding locations are selected which belong to the same group as thefirst feeding location.
 14. A feeding system for distributing feed overa plurality of separate feeding locations in a farm, the systemcomprising: a feed delivery device; a feed loading system; and a feedcontrol system, wherein the feed delivery device is configured todeliver feed to one or more feeding locations, wherein the feed loadingsystem is configured to fill the feed delivery system and wherein thefeed control system is configured to: a) determine which feedinglocations have a feed requirement; b) select a first feeding locationamong the feeding locations having a feed requirement; c) determine afeed composition for the feed to be delivered to the first feedinglocation and determine a first amount of said feed to be delivered tothe first feeding location; d) determine which further feeding locationshaving a feed requirement require the same feed composition as the firstfeeding location; e) select at least one further feeding location anddetermine a further amount of said feed to be delivered to said furtherfeeding location; f) control the feed loading system to fill the feeddelivery device with an amount of the determined feed composition; andg) control the feed delivery device to drive and move along the selectedfeeding locations and to distribute the filled amount of feed in thefeed delivery device over the selected feeding locations, wherein theamount of feed distributed to a selected feeding location is dependenton the ratio between the amount of feed to be delivered to said selectedfeeding location and the sum of the amounts of feed to be delivered toall selected feeding locations times the filled amount.
 15. The feedingsystem according to claim 14, wherein the feed delivery device is anautonomous feed delivery device, due to the control system which is atleast partially a part of the feed delivery device.
 16. The feedingsystem according to claim 14, further comprising a feed stock system anda loading station, wherein the feed delivery device is configured todeliver feed from the loading station to the one or more feedinglocations, and wherein the feed loading system is configured to deliverfeed from the feed stock system to the feed loading station to fill thefeed delivery device when the feed delivery device is in the loadingstation.
 17. The feeding system according to claim 14, wherein the feeddelivery device comprises a rest feed measurement system configured thedetermine the amount of feed at a feeding location.
 18. The feedingsystem according to claim 14, further comprising a mixing device formixing feed.
 19. The feeding system according to claim 18, wherein themixing device is provided as part of the feed delivery device.
 20. Thefeeding system according to claim 12, wherein the feed delivery devicecomprises a door allowing feed to be dispensed, the door extending awayfrom the feed delivery device when at least partially opened. 21.(canceled)